Eating for health & testing my taste buds one bite at a time…

Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

How about a recipe? I haven’t posted one in a while and this one is just too good not to share. We all know I love a good “mock cookie pie”. Well, how about just a mock cookie? These cookies are filled with protein and just sweet enough to give you that cookie feeling. I’m a lover of all things chocolate (except chocolate cake… is that weird?) so of course a few dark chocolate morsels are sprinkled in there as well! Bust out your food processor and give these little guys a try!

The base of these cookies is of course, chickpeas! Talk about something that is versatile in use. I love chickpeas for fresh summer salads, fillers for chicken salad, and as a great alternative for flour in decadent desserts. This is an easy way to bump up the protein content of your desserts and replace plain flour that doesn’t have much nutritive value.

Honey gives these cookies a little sweetness, and oats add as a binder so they cookie stays semi-firm. They are very moist, there is no way around it, so make sure you give them enough time to bake and form together!

Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1/3 cup honey

1/3-1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (so salt added)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

dark chocolate chunks (I used about 1/3 cup)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, blend your chickpeas, honey, peanut butter, vanilla, baking power, cinnamon, and salt. Stop and scrape the sides as needed and blend until completely smooth. Once your batter is free of chunks or any remnants of chickpea skins, fold in your chocolate chunks. Don’ blend these or they will become too fine!

On a greased cookie sheet, place your cookies 1-2 in apart (they don’t really spread out much). My cookies were about the size of a ping pong ball.

Cooking time is a little rough with these, depending on how great your oven is or the type of cookie tray. Check after about 12-15 minutes. Cookies should be slightly golden brown on the bottom and able to be lifted off the sheet without completely breaking in half. If they still feel overly soft, bake for about 3-5 minutes for a total of about 18-20 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before eating! They will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half! Personally, I think they taste best cold (tastes like raw cookie dough when cold!). Enjoy 🙂